New “AI for Fun” Modules for Students

New “AI for Fun” Modules for Students

1. Jointly offered by Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and the Ministry of Education (MOE), the Code for Fun (CFF) programme¹ was first introduced in 2014 to MOE primary and secondary schools. It exposes students to computational thinking through coding, inventive thinking through digital making, and emerging technologies. More than 50,000 students are reached every year.

2. With the launch of MOE’s “Transforming Education through Technology” Masterplan 2030 in 2023, IMDA and MOE are strengthening efforts to better prepare our students and teachers for a digital future. Starting from 2025, we will introduce new “AI for Fun” modules under the CFF programme. These five to 10-hour elective modules will be made available to all primary and secondary schools. The new “AI for Fun” modules will offer students further opportunities for hands-on exploration and ‘tinkering’ with technology, such as through the design of prototypes incorporating artificial intelligence (AI). For example, students will get to understand what a smart robot is and train such robots to respond to external signals.

3. The new elective modules will build upon the 10 hours of CFF that are currently offered to primary and secondary schools. These cover basic coding concepts such as variables, loops and functions in a block-based coding platform, and a basic understanding of AI. Secondary school students also dive deeper into computational thinking and design- thinking concepts and learn how to apply them to create a solution for a real-world problem.

4. Beyond the CFF programme, students also acquire relevant digital literacies, such as understanding AI, its uses, risks, and limitations, and ethical considerations in the course of learning different subjects in schools. Teachers guide students to use AI to support their learning, emphasising ethics related to the use of data and AI, such as the importance of academic integrity and proper data handling. Students are also taught how to verify the credibility of online information sources and the importance of data security, privacy, and responsible online behaviours. They can further their learning through school-based programmes such as co-curricular activities, Applied Learning Programmes, and enrichment programmes.

¹Since 2020, the Code for Fun Programme, or a comparable coding programme, has been mandatory for all upper primary students. While CFF remains an optional programme at the secondary school level, almost two thirds of secondary schools offered the programme in 2023.